BONN, June 15: Boris Becker said today he hated losing in the semifinals of a grasscourt tournament in Germany yesterday but the defeat might boost his chances of recapturing the Wimbledon title.

``The loss hurts but it will also have a positive effect,'' Becker said a day after Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated him in straight sets in the semifinals of the $ 875,000 grasscourt tournament in Halle.

``If I had won the title here people would have expected too much from me in Wimbledon,'' said the 29-year-old Becker, who was Wimbledon champion in 1985, 1986 and 1989. ``Besides, not winning here makes me all the more hungry for success. I am far from satiated.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.